Who was Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA?
Right-wing talk show host and activist Charlie Kirk founded the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA in 2012.
A spokesman for Turning Point USA said in a social media post that in the days after Charlie Kirk’s death, the organization had been led to requests to launch new campus chapters for high schools and universities.
Andrew Kolvet said in a September 14th X post that the group has launched a new campus chapter in 48 hours after receiving more than 32,000 inquiries. Turning Point USA, a conservative youth-centric organization founded by Charlie Kirk, says it currently has around 900 university chapters and 1,200 high school chapters.
“Charlie’s vision to have Club America Chapter (our high school brand) at every high school in America (about 23,000) comes true much faster than he ever imagined,” Corvette said in the post.
Turning Point USA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The impact of Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA was founded by Kirk in 2012 and has since become a prominent right-wing political force. In addition to its presence on hundreds of college and high school campuses, the organization holds meetings, encourages young people to organize conservative issues, and produces a variety of media such as The Charlie Kirk Show. The group and Kirk are believed to have worked closely with the Maga movement and helped mobilize support for President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Much of that power comes from connections with younger voters, and Kirk has long argued that his organizational chapters were necessary to combat the ideology of the “awakening” classroom. Kirk often met and discussed for the students. He was at Utah Valley University at the first stop on the “American Comeback Tour” while speaking in front of about 3,000 people when he was killed by a single gunshot on Wednesday, September 10th.
Kirk’s wife says the tour continues, and a public commemoration is scheduled
Kirk’s wife, Erica Kirk, said in her first public speech that she will be on a campus tour since her husband’s death. The next scheduled campus tour stop will be September 18th at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
Kirk’s public ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, September 21st in Arizona, according to Turning Point USA.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can contact her kapalmer@usatoday.com and x @kathrynplmr.
